This Place Is Haunted
by actionman81
Summary: Can the Starlight Girls and Misfits Girls spend the night in an abandoned video arcade?


Loud voices could be heard outside the Zero Gravity Laser Tag & Arcade, in Albany, New York,

"I dare you!" Ashley pointed her finger

"No, I dare you!" Ellen scowled

"Oh yeah?" Ashley countered

"Yeah!"

The Starlight Girls, namely, Ashley, Krissie, Laura and Terri, faced off against the Misfits Girls, Sandra, Ellen and Molly, in front of the arcade center

"This town is so boring!" Molly whined, "There's nothing to do and we're in the middle of nowhere"

"Actually, Albany is the capital of New York state" Krissie corrected her

"Actually," Molly mimicked her, "you should shut your face hole!"

"Make me" Krissie stepped forward

"We shouldn't fight" Terri tried to be the voice of reason

"Oh come off it" Ashley rebuked her foster sister, "I don't think these three have the guts to do it"

"Sure we do!" Sandra countered, "Wait, what do we have to do?"

"It's simple" Laura looked up at the arcade, "I bet you can't spend the night in there, alone"

"We're not scared of anything" Ellen leaned forward

"Even though this place was closed for repairs?" Ashley raised an eyebrow

"Even then!" Molly was no slouch

"Fine!" Ashley stormed off

"Fine!" Ellen and Molly stormed off in another direction

"Um, what just happened?" Sandra wondered aloud

Back at the hotel, Ashely started trying to wear Jerrica down

"Jerrica" Ashley began, "Can we have a sleepover?"

"Well, I guess so" Jerrica started, "but, we're only in Albany for a short time. I thought you were going to help with the concert"

"We will, but that's not for a couple of days, and I thought it would be nice if – well, if the other girls, Sandra, Ellen and Molly could hang out with us"

"You thought it would be nice?" Jerrica looked quizzically at Ashley

"Sure" Krissie chimed in, "We don't really hate them, even if they did cheat last time we were all together"

"Alright" Jerrica replied slowly, "but I want you all to be safe, so I'll send one of the girls to check on you"

"The girls?" Ashley looked down

"Kimber, Shana, Aja or Raya" Jerrica explained, "someone will check in on you"

"But, we want to have some fun" Ashley sighed, "you know, talk about—about"

"Boys" Terri piped up, "and do each other's hair and makeup"

"Alright" Jerrica laughed, "but I'm just worried about you kids"

"We're not kids" Laura countered, "We're grown up – teenager—type people"

"Uh huh" Kimber poked her head in the room, "You, grown up teenager types need to finish helping Rio organize these instruments first"

At the Misfits' hotel, things were off and running, in a manner of speaking

"Pizzazz" Molly began, "You know, wouldn't it be great if you could get some time on your own?"

"What are you yapping about?" Pizzazz lay on a bed, though she looked anything but rested, "That drive was horrible"

"Well, I know how hard it is having three young girls around"

"Who knew little girls could be so much work?" Pizzazz whined

"Your parents, perhaps?" Eric mumbled from his spot on the bed, next to Pizzazz. He looked exhausted as well, "I am never taking a trip by road, ever. It's the friendly skies for me"

"Quiet, Eric" Pizzaz chided her manager, "I want to hear what the little brat—dear have to say"

"What if Ellen, Sandra and me got out of your hair for a bit?"

"What are the legalities of this?" Eric piped up

"What?" Molly didn't understand

"We're not getting sued because you go do something stupid" Pizzazz explained, her hand draped across her forehead, "we're still liable if you go get hurt"

"Relax" Molly reassured her, "we'll just go bother those stupid Starlight Girls, that's all"

"Eh, what could happen?" Eric wheezed

"Look, just because you old people are too tired to go have fun, don't take it out on us"

"Fine, go" Pizzazz waved away the girl

That was all the encouragement that the Misfits Girls needed.

At the arcade, the sun was setting,

"So, how are we doing this?" Ellen jerked her chin in Ashley's direction

"There has to be a way in" Ashley kicked at the door

"You could try the back" Krissie suggested

"Yeah, why didn't I think of that?" Molly grinned

"Probably because the Misfits are your role models" Krissie whispered and laughed quietly

Once the girls were inside, they noticed their surroundings

"This place is creepy" Terri shuddered

"Oh please" Ashley scoffed, "This place isn't scary. It's just empty and boring"

"Hey" Sandra walked up to a laser tag pistol that was lying on a countertop, "We can play this shooting game!" she held the gun and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened

"Sure, it's like a Good Guy doll" Ellen quipped, referring to new, popular movie, "Batteries included" she laughed

"Pipe down!" Sandra snapped back, "I know there's no electricity, I just thought—thought it would be fun"

"Fun, in this dump?" Molly kicked one of the arcade games. The back panel popped open and a miniature avalanche of quarters spilled out onto the floor. She immediately knelt and grabbed as many as she could, "I'm rich, rich!" she squealed

"Hey" Ashley tried to stop her, but Molly slapped her hand away, "You can't take that, that's stealing!"

"Stealing? From who? This place is deserted"

"I'd love some dessert" Terri grinned. The other girls ignored her

In the back of the arcade, there was a noise

"Hey wait a minute" Kirissie broke up the argument, "Did you just hear something?"

"Get lost" Molly elbowed her, "You just want to get some of this cold hard cash for yourself"

The sound repeated itself

Terri jerked her head around, "I h-h-heard it, too" she shuddered

"You hear everything" Ellen rebuked her

The sound came a third time.

"Ok" Sandra sounded genuinely afraid, "I'll admit, I heard that one"

"Well, come on" Ashley started moving towards the back of the arcade, "let's solve this thing, like Mystery Incorporated"

"Those kids who sing and dance on that Disney show?" Sandra asked

"No" Krissie corrected her, "The four teenagers and that big Great Dane who solve crimes"

"What if it's being haunted by a ghost?" Terri looked scared

"Don't worry" Krissie reassured her, "on that show with the dog, there aren't any real ghosts, just people in masks"

"People in masks are scary, too" Terri shivered

By now, the girls had neared the back of the arcade. A door leading to another room was closed, but even without lights on, the girls could make out that there were sounds coming from the back of the laser tag arcade.

"Hold on" Krissie stopped everyone, "what are we going to do?"

"We're going to rush in and stop them" Ashley put her hand on the doorknob

"Hang on" Krissie pulled her away, "what if there are big men, with guns, or knives? How are you going to stop them?"

"I – ok, good point" Ashley agreed

"Well, what bright ideas do you have?" Ellen smirked

"We could yell 'Boo' at them" Terri suggested

"Sure, and then they'll run away in sheer terror" Molly teased her

"What about you?" Ellen stared at Laura, "are you going to put them to sleep with your lame pills?"

"I'm in rehab!" Laura pushed Ellen out of the way

"Stop, stop fighting" Terri cried, louder than she'd expected

"Great going" Ashley rolled her eyes, "they probably heard us already"

"Well, if they heard us, they're not coming for us" Sandra realized

"Do we go in, or do we not go in?" Krissie asked everyone

"Please" Laura sighed, "this isn't a Find Your Fate book"

"Yeah" Sandra agreed, "There's no, 'turn to page 4 if you want to go in, page 8 if you want to stay here' right?"

"I'm tired of this garbage, let's go" Ashley pushed the door open

The room was dark, and the girls carefully made their way through the area.

"This looks like a storage room" Sandra felt stacks of boxes with her hand, as she ran her digits along the piles of cardboard

"It looks like a junk pile" Laura kicked a cardboard crown across the room, "Look at all this garbage"

"They must keep all the equipment back here" Krissie pulled her foot from under coils of wire on the floor.

The girls heard the sound again, but this time, it was much closer.

"There" Terrie squealed and pointed

"It's a monster" Ellen shouted

"it's a wild animal!" Molly screamed

The sound came again, and this time, something jumped close enough so everyone could see exactly what was it was.

"It's a cat!" Sandra realized

"And look, she had kittens!" Terri gushed

The cat padded around a corner of the storeroom, and the girls could just make out the furry tufts that were packed together in a rag

"We can't just leave them back here" Ashley looked at the others

"There's a pay phone down the street" Krissie suggested, "I can go call Jerrica at our hotel, and she'll know what to do"

"Good plan" Sandra agreed, "I've only got a dime"

"I've got a dime, too" Ashley fished it out of her pocket

"I've only got a nickel" Terri sighed

"Good" Krissie nodded, "That's enough for a phone call"

Later, back at the hotel, all the girls sat around Jerrica's hotel room, tucking away at some room service

"Breakfast tastes way better at night" Ashley shoveled a forkful of pancakes into her mouth

"Hey, don't hog all the syrup" Molly snatched the maple syrup away from Ellen

"What do you want it for? Ellen scowled at her, "You're eating eggs"

"Maybe I like syrup on my eggs" Molly scowled back

"We've found homes for all the kittens, and even found someone who wants the mother cat" Raya put down the phone receiver back on the cradle, "You girls sure did a great job tonight"

"I'm proud of you" Jerrica smiled at them, "All of you. Even though I'm not at all happy that you lied to me, or to Pizazz, you showed good judgement and quick thinking to get out of a potentially dangerous situation. You were smart, and stayed cool under pressure, and you did the right thing"

The girls chimed in, "And doing the right thing, makes you, a superstar!"

END


End file.
